In fiction, Dark Lord (or Evil Overlord) is often used to refer to a powerful villain or antagonist with evil henchmen. In particular, it is used as a moniker in universes where it is thought that pronouncing the villain's real name will bring bad luck or represents a bad omen, such a villain usually seeks to rule or destroy the universe around them.

In fantasy novels, Dark Lords have become something of a cliché stemming from the success of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which the main antagonist, Sauron, is often referred to as the "Dark Lord". On occasion, the people of Gondor in Middle-earth refer to Sauron as "The Enemy" or "The Nameless Enemy" despite knowing his real name; arguably starting the practice of avoiding pronouncing a Dark Lord's actual name. In Tolkien's legendarium, Sauron is the second Dark Lord; he was the lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth (also a title or epithet meaning "dark enemy"), until the latter's defeat. Morgoth's original name was Melkor (he who arises in might).[1] Following the example of Sauron, Dark Lords in fantasy are always depicted as immensely powerful and implacably evil creatures with a great desire for power. One example of a powerful Dark Lord in the world of literature is the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, earning his place as a Dark Lord having surpassed the magical abilities of any other dark wizard before him, thus he is considered not a Dark Wizard but the first and only Dark Lord within that universe, being so powerful and evil that his enemies even dreaded to speak his name. Dark Lords have a negative effect in their universe, throwing them into ruin and despair. Sauron, for example, turned Mordor into a "wasteland where the very air saps one's will", he planned to do the same to all of Middle-earth. Dark Lords have mostly been male, with few exceptions such as the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia, who casts the world into an eternal winter but never Christmas.

Dark Lord characters do not often engage in direct conflict with protagonists, they are dark gods, demons or rulers of lands who exist in other dimensions, and/or maintain a dark, inaccessible fortress. They rely on a vast network of minions, often with an extremely hierarchical structure; in Star Wars, "Dark Lord" is a rank achieved by those who become Sith Lords as in the "Dark Lord of the Sith". The most recognized Dark Lords of Star Wars are Darth Vader and Darth Sidious.

The frequency in which the Dark Lord cliche occurs spawned the Evil Overlord List, a website satirizing the mistakes of Dark Lords and major villains. Frequently, antagonists in fiction will display numerous Dark Lord mannerisms while belonging to another genre of fictional villain, and some pertain to more than one genre. An example is Davros from Doctor Who, whose position as creator of the Daleks and later ruler of their empire marks him both as a Dark Lord and a mad scientist.

In comics, villains are usually considered Dark Lords either by the format of the story in which the villain appears or because of the villain’s modus operandi, for example, Ming the Merciless, Thanos and Darkseid are alien despots and could fall under the category of alien invaders. However, they exist within stories of such operatic nature, with elements of swashbuckling adventure and mythological analogy, that they are considered specifically to be Dark Lords. Alternatively, comic book villains The Kingpin and the 1990-era Lex Luthor could be considered modern-day versions of a Dark Lord, but more closely fall under the categories of a crime lord or a mad scientist, respectively, this is mostly due to these characters traditionally seeking a public identity as a businessman or a philanthropist, while keeping their criminal activities secret. This is at odds with one of the hallmarks of a Dark Lord, which is that they act from or deliberately seek out a position of legal authority, albeit often self-appointed, and even their most nefarious deeds are often performed publicly.

A recent example can be found on the television series Once Upon a Time, where the title "The Dark One" identifies someone with prolific magical powers whose life and powers are bound to a dagger bearing their name as an inscription. Whoever possesses the dagger can control the Dark One, but if they kill the Dark One with it, they become the new Dark One themselves; in this series, the first Dark One was Nimue the lover of Merlin. For 1000 years the Dark Ones have terrorized the people of the enchanted forest leading up to the current Dark One, Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.

Many Fantasy games, as well as some of the SciFi genre, feature a Dark Lord who rules over one faction in the game. While this character is often the antagonist and final boss, some RPGs, such as Dark Souls, allows the player to earn this title for themselves, as this would often make the player character be in-charge of the game's hordes of enemies the moniker is usually granted at one of multiple endings. In order to make sequel games, this is often considered the non-canon ending, as in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but some games, like Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, use this ending to turn the powered up anti-hero into the series' new antagonist.

1.
Sauron
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Sauron /ˈsaʊrɒn/ is the title character and main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. In the same work, he is identified as the necromancer, in Tolkiens The Silmarillion, he is also described as the chief lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. The being later known as Sauron originated as an immortal spirit, in his origin, Sauron therefore perceived the Creator directly. As Tolkien noted, Sauron could not, of course, be a sincere atheist, though one of the minor spirits created before the world, he knew Eru, according to his measure. In the terminology of Tolkiens invented language of Quenya, these spirits were called Ainur. Those who entered the world were called Valar, especially the most powerful ones. The lesser beings who entered the world, of whom Sauron was one, were called Maiar, in Tolkiens letters, the author noted that Sauron was of course a divine person. Tolkien noted that he was of a far higher order than the Maiar who later came to Middle-earth as the Wizards Gandalf and Saruman. As created by Eru, the Ainur were all good and uncorrupt, as Elrond stated in The Lord of the Rings, rebellion originated with the Vala Melkor. According to a story meant as a parable of events beyond Elvish comprehension, Eru let his spirit-children perform a great Music, the Music of the Ainur, developing a theme revealed by Eru himself. For a while the choir made wondrous music, but then Melkor tried to increase his own glory by weaving into his song thoughts. Straightway discord arose around him, and many that sang nigh him grew despondent, but some began to attune their music to his rather than to the thought which they had at first. However, Sauron was not a beginner of discord, and he knew more of the Music than did Melkor, whose mind had always been filled with his own plans. Apparently Sauron was not even one of the spirits that immediately began to attune their music to that of Melkor, the cosmic Music now represented the conflict between good and evil. Finally, Eru abruptly brought the Song of Creation to an end, to show the spirits, faithful or otherwise, what they had done, Eru gave independent being to the now-marred Music. This resulted in the manifestation of the material World, Eä, entering Eä at the beginning of time, the Valar and Maiar tried to build and organize the world according to the will of Eru. Each Maia was associated with one of the powerful Valar whom they served, for example, Sauron was prominent among the Maiar who served Aulë the Smith, the great craftsman of the Valar. As a result, Sauron came to possess knowledge of the physical substances of the world, forging

2.
Villain
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A villain is an evil character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have an effect on other characters. A female villain is called a villainess. It referred to a person of less than knightly status and so came to mean a person who was not chivalrous, the villain therefore could appear twice, once in the opening of the story, and a second time as the person sought out by the hero. When a character performed only these acts, the character was a pure villain, the functions could also be spread out among several characters. If a dragon acted as the villain, but was killed by the hero, another character might take on the role of the villain, two other characters could appear in roles that are villainous in the more general sense. One is the hero, this character is always villainous. Among these characters are Cinderellas stepsisters, chopping off parts of their feet to fit on the shoe, another character, the dispatcher, sends a hero on his quest. This might be an innocent request, to fulfil a legitimate need, in fiction, villains commonly function in the dual role of adversary and foil to the storys heroes. In their role as adversary, the villain serves as an obstacle the hero must struggle to overcome, in their role as foil, the villain exemplifies characteristics that are diametrically opposed to those of the hero, creating a contrast distinguishing heroic traits from villainous ones. Others point out many acts of villains have a hint of wish-fulfillment. Because of this, a convincing villain must be given a characterization that provides a motive for doing wrong, as put by film critic Roger Ebert, Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, tod Slaughter always portrayed villainous characters on both stage and screen in a melodramatic manner, with mustache-twirling, eye-rolling, leering, cackling, and hand-rubbing. Brad Warner states that only cartoon villains cackle with glee while rubbing their hands together and dream of ruling the world in the name of all that is wicked, ben Bova recommends to authors that their works not contain villains. He states, in his Tips for writers, In the real world there are no villains, no one actually sets out to do evil. Or, more accurately, fiction serves as a lens to focus of what they know in life, there are no villains cackling and rubbing their hands in glee as they contemplate their evil deeds. There are only people with problems, struggling to solve them, david Lubar adds, This is a brilliant observation that has served me well in all my writing. He may be driven by greed, neuroses, or the conviction that his cause is just, in an attempt to add realism to their stories, many writers will try to create sympathetic villains, the antithesis to an antihero called a antivillain

3.
Henchman
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Henchman referred originally to one who attended a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff and it is now used to generally describe any person with subordinate status derisively, while most often used specifically to a hired guard or minion of a villain or master criminal. The word appears in the name of Hengest, the Saxon chieftain and it was often rendered as Henxman in medieval English. The word became obsolete for grooms in English from the middle of the 17th century, the word is, in this sense, synonymous with gillie, the faithful personal follower of a Highland chieftain, the man who stands at his masters haunch, ready for any emergency. The phrase henchman is also used as a pejorative for any sort of political underling or to present others as such, thus it was used for associates of President George W. Bush, e. g. by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Likewise, it was used against associates of the former U. S. President Bill Clinton. Rebekah Brooks has been described as the henchwoman of Rupert Murdoch, members of the SS, or any of Adolf Hitlers staff, are often called Hitlers Henchmen, a phrase used as the title of a book by Guido Knopp and a television documentary. Henchmen are common in mystery, fantasy, and adventure novels, comic books and they are the expendable adherents of the main villain, always there to do the masters bidding, to kill or be killed, kidnap, or threaten, as needed. Often, they are killed by the hero before the villain is reached, by the heros sidekick in a dramatic battle. In these cases they are akin to minions and henchmen are sometimes called lackeys, toadies. A female accomplice is more often called a moll and they may switch sides during the course of the story to ally with the hero. Not all henchmen are dimwitted, expendable employees of a villain, sometimes, they may be of an equal social standing or at least have a high intelligence or social standing of their own, thus being valued more like a right-hand man. In such cases, they may command groups of more expendable thugs, a henchman might also be the non-player character follower of a player character in role-playing games. This henchman will follow the player around and assist in various manners, however, some darkly comedic heroes have sidekicks of a more subservient nature, though these relationships are often a form of tough love or even just a condescending affection. Igor Nodwick Sidekick Notes Sources EtymologyOnLine This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh

4.
Satan
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Satan is a figure appearing in the texts of the Abrahamic religions who brings evil and temptation, and is known as the deceiver who leads humanity astray. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, Satan is primarily an accuser and adversary, a malevolent entity, also called the devil. Although Satan is generally viewed as having negative characteristics, some groups have different beliefs. In Theistic Satanism, Satan is considered a deity who is either worshipped or revered, in LaVeyan Satanism, Satan is a symbol of virtuous characteristics and liberty. The original Hebrew term satan is a noun from a verb meaning primarily to obstruct, oppose, as it is found in Numbers 22,22,1 Samuel 29,4, ha-Satan is traditionally translated as the accuser or the adversary. The definite article ha- is used to show that this is a title bestowed on a being, thus, this being would be referred to as the satan. Ha-Satan with the definite article occurs 13 times in the Masoretic Text, in two books of the Hebrew Bible, Job ch. 1–2 and Zechariah 3, 1–2. 32 behold, I went out to thee,1 Samuel 29,4 The Philistines say, lest he be an adversary against us 2 Samuel 19,22 David says. 1 Kings 5,4 Solomon writes to Hiram, there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent, when the angels present themselves to God, Satan comes as well. God informs Satan about Jobs blameless, morally upright character, God therefore gives Satan permission to test Job. In the end, Job remains faithful and righteous, and there is the implication that Satan is shamed in his defeat, some scholars see contact with religious dualism in Babylon, and early Zoroastrianism in particular, as influencing Second Temple Judaism, and consequently early Christianity. Subsequent development of Satan as a deceiver has parallels with the spirit in Zoroastrianism, known as the Lie. In the Septuagint, the Hebrew ha-Satan in Job and Zechariah is translated by the Greek word diabolos, the Book of Enoch contains references to Satariel, thought also to be Sataniel and Satanel. The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael, Raphael, Uriel, the Second Book of Enoch, also called the Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references to a Watcher called Satanael. It is a text of an uncertain date and unknown authorship. The text describes Satanael as being the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven, a similar story is found in the book of 1 Enoch, however, in that book, the leader of the Grigori is called Semjâzâ. In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is represented as the being who brought death into the world, in the Book of Jubilees, Mastema induces God to test Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac. He is identical to Satan in both name and nature, in Judaism, the term satan used since its earliest biblical contexts to refer to a human opponent

5.
Fantasy
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Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other elements as a main plot element, theme. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds, in popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy works by many writers, artists, filmmakers. Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other studies, cultural studies, comparative literature, history. The identifying trait of fantasy is the reliance on imagination to create narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent. This differs from realistic fiction in that whereas realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, an author applies his or her imagination to come up with characters, plots, and settings that are impossible in reality. Fantasy has often compared with science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative fiction. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements, a science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seeming possible through logical scientific and/or technological extrapolation, whereas fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible. The imagined elements of fantasy do not need an explanation to be narratively functional. Authors have to rely on the suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment. Despite both genres heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable, horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists. Beginning perhaps with the earliest written documents, mythic and other elements that would come to define fantasy. MacDonald was an influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, lord Dunsany established the genres popularity in both the novel and the short story form. Many popular mainstream authors also began to write fantasy at this time, including H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Indeed, juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children, though works for adults only verged on fantasy. Political and social trends can affect a societys reception towards fantasy, in the early 20th century, the New Culture Movements enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature

6.
J. R. R. Tolkien
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He was at one time a close friend of C. S. Lewis—they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972, after Tolkiens death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his fathers extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the part of these writings. While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien and this has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the father of modern fantasy literature—or, more precisely, of high fantasy. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945, forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning dead celebrity in 2009. Tolkiens paternal ancestors were middle-class craftsmen who made and sold clocks, watches and pianos in London, the Tolkien family had emigrated from Germany in the 18th century but had become quickly intensely English. According to the tradition, the Tolkiens had arrived in England in 1756. Several families with the surname Tolkien or similar spelling live in northwestern Germany, mainly in Lower Saxony, however, this origin of the name has not been proven. A German writer has suggested that the name is likely to derive from the village of Tolkynen near Rastenburg. Although that village is far from Lower Saxony, its name is derived from the now-extinct Old Prussian language. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State to Arthur Reuel Tolkien, an English bank manager, the couple had left England when Arthur was promoted to head the Bloemfontein office of the British bank for which he worked. Tolkien had one sibling, his brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel. In another incident, a family servant, who thought Tolkien a beautiful child, took the baby to his kraal to show him off. When he was three, he went to England with his mother and brother on what was intended to be a family visit. His father, however, died in South Africa of rheumatic fever before he could join them and this left the family without an income, so Tolkiens mother took him to live with her parents in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Soon after, in 1896, they moved to Sarehole, then a Worcestershire village, Mabel Tolkien taught her two children at home. Ronald, as he was known in the family, was a keen pupil and she taught him a great deal of botany and awakened in him the enjoyment of the look and feel of plants. Young Tolkien liked to draw landscapes and trees, but his lessons were those concerning languages

7.
The Lord of the Rings
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The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkiens 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The work was intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, the other to be The Silmarillion. For economic reasons The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, the three volumes were titled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. Some editions combine the work into a single volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times, Tolkiens work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917 and these inspirations and themes have often been denied by Tolkien himself. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film. In 2003, it was named Britains best-loved novel of all time in the BBCs The Big Read, Sauron was defeated by an alliance of Elves and Men led by Gil-galad and Elendil, respectively. Isildur, son of Elendil, cut the One Ring from Saurons finger, Isildur claimed the Ring as an heirloom for his line, but when he was later ambushed and killed by the Orcs, the Ring was lost in the River Anduin at Gladden Fields. Over two thousand years later, the Ring was found by one of the river-folk called Déagol and his friend Sméagol fell under the Rings influence and strangled Déagol to acquire it. Sméagol was banished and hid under the Misty Mountains, the Ring gave him long life and changed him over hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called Gollum. Gollum lost the Ring, his precious, and as told in The Hobbit, meanwhile, Sauron assumed a new form and took back his old realm of Mordor. When Gollum set out in search of the Ring, he was captured and tortured by Sauron, Sauron learned from Gollum that Baggins of the Shire had taken the Ring. Sauron, who needed the Ring to regain his power, sent forth his powerful servants. The story begins in the Shire, where the hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo Baggins, his cousin, neither hobbit is aware of the Rings nature, but Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and an old friend of Bilbo, suspects it to be Saurons Ring. After Gandalf confirms his suspicions, he tells Frodo the history of the Ring, Frodo leaves the Shire, in the company of his gardener and friend, Samwise Gamgee, and two cousins, Meriadoc Brandybuck, called Merry, and Peregrin Took, called Pippin

8.
Gondor
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Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkiens writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring. The history of the kingdom is outlined in the appendices of the book, according to the narrative, Gondor was founded by the brothers Isildur and Anárion, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor. Along with Arnor in the north, Gondor, the South-kingdom, after an early period of growth, Gondor gradually declined as the Third Age progressed, being continually weakened by internal strife and conflict with the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron. The kingdoms ascendancy was restored only with Saurons final defeat and the crowning of Aragorn, the role of the kingdom emerged gradually, when a side adventure in the plot became the focus of later writings. The textual history was traced by Christopher Tolkien in The History of Middle-earth, the history of Gondor is described in several of Tolkiens works, with different levels of detail. Within the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, the kingdom is first introduced at the Council of Elrond, with a summary of the Second. The events of the latter are elaborated in the appendices to the book, retellings at an ample scale of some particular episodes are included in Unfinished Tales. The territory that would become Gondor had been colonised by the Númenóreans from around the middle of the Second Age. Within the South-kingdom, the hometowns of Isildur and Anárion were Minas Ithil and Minas Anor respectively, Sauron, however, had survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor just to the east of Gondor. Soon he launched a war against the Númenórean kingdoms, hoping to destroy them before their power was established and he captured Minas Ithil, but Isildur escaped and fled by ship to Arnor, meanwhile, Anárion was able to defend Osgiliath. Elendil and the Elven-king Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Sauron was overthrown, but the One Ring that Isildur took from him was not destroyed, and thus Sauron was able to regain power in the next age. However, Isildur and his three sons were ambushed and killed by Orcs in the Gladden Fields. During the first millennium of the Third Age, Gondor was victorious in war and its wealth, after Saurons defeat, Gondor watched over Mordor. In T. A.490, Gondors centuries-old peace was ended by the first of many Easterling invasions and that war lasted into the following century, and from it Gondor conquered much territory in Rhûn north of Mordor. Under the rule of the four Ship-Kings, Gondor established a powerful navy, in 933, Gondor captured the southern port city Umbar, formerly held by the hostile Black Númenóreans. Later, the Haradrim defeated Gondor on land and besieged Umbar, but King Hyarmendacil I strengthened his army and navy, Mordor was desolate and guarded by fortresses. Gondor began to decline during the reigns of Atanatar and his two sons, who lived in ease and luxury, doing little to maintain Gondors strength, the first casualty of this period was the watch on Mordor, which was largely neglected

9.
Middle-earth
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Middle-earth is the setting of much of J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. The term is equivalent to the term Midgard of Norse mythology, describing the human-inhabited world, Middle-earth is the north continent of Earth in an imaginary period of the Earths past, in the sense of a secondary or sub-creational reality. Its general position is reminiscent of Europe, with the environs of the Shire intended to be reminiscent of England, in later ages, after Morgoths defeat and expulsion from Arda, his place was taken by his lieutenant Sauron. The Valar withdrew from involvement in the affairs of Middle-earth after the defeat of Morgoth. The most important wizards were Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White, Gandalf remained true to his mission and proved crucial in the fight against Sauron. Saruman, however, became corrupted and sought to establish himself as a rival to Sauron for absolute power in Middle-earth, other races involved in the struggle against evil were Dwarves, Ents and most famously Hobbits. The early stages of the conflict are chronicled in The Silmarillion, while the stages of the struggle to defeat Sauron are told in The Hobbit. Conflict over the possession and control of precious or magical objects is a theme in the stories. The First Age is dominated by the doomed quest of the elf Fëanor, in ancient Germanic mythology, the world of Men is known by several names, such as Midgard, Middenheim, Manaheim, and Middengeard. The term Middle-earth, also referred to as middle-world, was therefore not invented by Tolkien. It is found throughout the Modern English period as a development of the Middle English word middel-erde, Tolkien first encountered the term middangeard in an Old English fragment he studied in 1914, Éala éarendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended. Hail Earendel, brightest of angels / above the middle-earth sent unto men and this quote is from the second of the fragmentary remnants of the Crist poems by Cynewulf. The name Éarendel was the inspiration for Tolkiens mariner Eärendil, who set sail from the lands of Middle-earth to ask for aid from the angelic powers, Tolkiens earliest poem about Eärendil, from 1914, the same year he read the Crist poems, refers to the mid-worlds rim. The concept of middangeard was considered by Tolkien to be the same as a usage of the Greek word οἰκουμένη - oikoumenē. It is a modernization or alteration, of an old word for the inhabited world of Men, the oikoumene, middle because thought of vaguely as set amidst the encircling Seas and between ice of the North and the fire of the South. O. English middan-geard, mediaeval E. midden-erd, middle-erd, many reviewers seem to assume that Middle-earth is another planet. However, the term Middle-earth is not found in Tolkiens earliest writings about Middle-earth, dating from the early 1920s, nor is the term used in The Hobbit. Tolkien began to use the term Middle-earth in the late 1930s, in place of the earlier terms Great Lands, Outer Lands, and Hither Lands

10.
Evil
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In religion, ethics, philosophy and psychology good and evil is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is usually perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, Evil, in a general context, is the absence or opposite of that which is described as being good. Often, evil is used to denote profound immorality, in certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives, however, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect. How to achieve good is also discussed in the social sciences, every language has a word expressing good in the sense of having the right or desirable quality and bad in the sense undesirable. A sense of judgment and a distinction right and wrong, good. This idea developed into a religion which spawned many sects, some of which embraced an extreme dualistic belief that the world should be shunned. Morality in this absolute sense solidifies in the dialogues of Plato, the idea is further developed in Late Antiquity by Neoplatonists, Gnostics, and Church Fathers. Medieval theology was shaped by St. Augustine of Hippo. According to the definition of St. Augustine of Hippo sin is a word, deed. Other later Germanic forms include Middle English evel, ifel, ufel, Old Frisian evel, Old Saxon ubil, Old High German ubil, differing views also exist as to why evil might arise. Many religious and philosophical traditions claim that evil behavior is an aberration that results from the human condition. Sometimes, evil is attributed to the existence of free will, Some argue that evil itself is ultimately based in an ignorance of truth. A variety of Enlightenment thinkers have alleged the opposite, by suggesting that evil is learned as a consequence of social structures. In physics and statistical thermodynamics, the property of goodness or order is referred to as a state of low entropy. Confucianisms primary concern is with correct social relationships and the behavior appropriate to the learned or superior man, thus evil would correspond to wrong behavior. By good, I understand that which we know is useful to us. By evil, on the contrary I understand that which we certainly know hinders us from possessing anything that is good

11.
Lord Voldemort
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Lord Voldemort is a fictional character and the central antagonist in J. K. Rowlings series of Harry Potter novels. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, which was released in 1997. Voldemort appears either in person or in flashbacks in each book and its adaptation in the series, except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, nearly every witch or wizard dares not utter his unmentionable name, and refers to him instead with such expressions as You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or the Dark Lord. Voldemorts obsession with blood purity signifies his aim to rid the world of Muggle heritage. Through his mothers family, he is the last descendant of wizard Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the leader of the Death Eaters, a group of wizards and witches dedicated to ridding the Wizarding World of Muggles. According to Rowling, the t in Voldemort is silent, as it is in the French word for death, in a 2001 interview, Rowling said Voldemort was invented as a nemesis for Harry Potter, and she intentionally did not flesh out Voldemorts backstory at first. The basic idea didnt know he was a wizard And so then I kind of worked backwards from that position to find out how that could be, when he was one year old, the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years attempted to kill him. He killed Harrys parents, and then he tried to kill Harry — he tried to curse him, Harry has to find out, before we find out. And – so – but for some reason the curse didnt work on Harry. So hes left with this lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and the curse rebounded upon the evil wizard, in the second book, Rowling establishes that Voldemort hates non-pure-blood wizards, despite being a half-blood himself. In the same year, Rowling became more precise about Voldemort and she began to link him to real-life tyrants, describing him as a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other peoples suffering. In 2004, though, Rowling said that she did not base Voldemort on any real person, in 2006, Rowling told an interviewer that Voldemort at his core has a human fear, the fear of death. She said, Voldemorts fear is death, ignominious death, I mean, he regards death itself as ignominious. He thinks that its a human weakness, as you know. Throughout the series, Rowling establishes that Voldemort is so feared in the world that it is considered dangerous even to speak his name. Most characters in the novels refer to him as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rather than say his name aloud, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a Taboo is placed upon the name, such that Voldemort or his followers may trace anyone who utters it

12.
J. K. Rowling
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Joanne Jo Rowling, OBE, FRSL, pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist, screenwriter and film producer best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have gained attention, won multiple awards. There were six sequels, the last, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling has lived a rags to riches life story, in which she progressed from living on state benefits to multi-millionaire status within five years. She is the United Kingdoms best-selling living author, with sales in excess of £238M, the 2016 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowlings fortune at £600 million, ranking her as the joint 197th richest person in the UK. Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, in October 2010, Rowling was named the Most Influential Woman in Britain by leading magazine editors. She has supported charities including Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, although she writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, her name, before her remarriage, was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman. As she had no name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name. Following her marriage, she has used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling and her entry in Whos Who lists her name also as Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling and her parents first met on a train departing from Kings Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965, One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Dugald Campbell, was Scottish, born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mothers paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was French, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War. Rowling originally believed he had won the Légion dhonneur during the war, as she said when she received it herself in 2009. She later discovered the truth when featured in an episode of the UK genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are. in which she found out it was a different Louis Volant who won the Legion of Honour. Rowlings sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old, the family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michaels Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and her headmaster at St Michaels, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore. As a child, Rowling often wrote stories which she frequently read to her sister

13.
Harry Potter
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Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a wizard, Harry Potter. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, on 26 June 1997, the series has now been translated into multiple languages including French, Irish, Spanish, German and Swedish to name a few. They have attracted a wide audience as well as younger readers. The series has also had its share of criticism, including concern about the dark tone as the series progressed, as well as the often gruesome. As of May 2013, the books have more than 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history. The series was published in English by two major publishers, Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press in the United States. The original seven books were adapted into a film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, which has become the second highest-grossing film series of all time as of August 2015, in 2016, the total value of the Harry Potter franchise was estimated at $25 billion, making Harry Potter one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. A series of genres, including fantasy, drama, coming of age and the British school story. According to Rowling, the theme is death. Other major themes in the series include prejudice, corruption, Rowling updates the series with new information and insight, and a pentalogy of spin-off films premiering in November 2016, among many other developments. Most recently, themed attractions, collectively known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, have built at several Universal Parks & Resorts amusement parks around the world. The wizarding world exists parallel to the Muggle world, albeit hidden and his magical ability is inborn and children with such abilities are invited to attend exclusive magic schools that teach the necessary skills to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry becomes a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, each novel chronicles one year in Harrys life during the period from 1991 to 1998. The books also contain many flashbacks, which are experienced by Harry viewing the memories of other characters in a device called a Pensieve. The environment Rowling created is intimately connected to reality, the full background to this event and Harry Potters past is revealed gradually through the series. After the introductory chapter, the book leaps forward to a time shortly before Harry Potters eleventh birthday, Harrys first contact with the wizarding world is through a half-giant, Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts

14.
Mordor
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In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor was the region occupied and controlled by Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring, Mordor has three enormous mountain ranges surrounding it, from the north, from the west and from the south. The mountains both protected the land from an invasion by any of the people living in those directions. Tolkien was reported to have identified Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli off Sicily, three sides of Mordor were bounded by mountain ranges, arranged in a rough rectangle, the Ered Lithui on the north, and the Ephel Dúath on the west and the south. In the northwest the pass of Cirith Gorgor led into the plain of Udûn. Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor across the pass, joining the Towers of the Teeth, the passage through the inner side of Udûn into the interior of Mordor was guarded by another gate, the Isenmouthe. Outside the Morannon lay the Dagorlad or Battle Plain, in the interior within this mountainous border lay Saurons main fortress Barad-dûr, the arid plateau of Gorgoroth, and Mount Doom. To the east lay the plain of Lithlad, a narrow pass led through the Ephel Dúath, guarded by Minas Morgul. A higher, more difficult pass, Cirith Ungol, just to the north, was guarded by a tower built by Gondor. This pass, the pass of the spider, was blockaded by Torech Ungol. The fortress Durthang lay in the northern Ephel Dúath above Udûn, Núrn, the southern part of Mordor, was less arid and more fertile. Streams here fed the salt Sea of Núrnen, Saurons slaves farmed this region to support his armies. Inside the Ephel Dúath ran a parallel ridge, the Morgai, separated from the Ephel Dúath by a narrow valley that Frodo. Water trickled into this vale from the Ephel Dúath, and the text describes it as a dying land not yet dead. The vegetation included low scrubby trees, coarse grey grass-tussocks, withered mosses, great writhing, tangled brambles, the fauna included maggots, midges, and flies marked with a red eye-shaped blotch. Adjacent to Mordor were, to the west, the land of Ithilien, to the northwest the Dead Marshes, to the northeast Rhûn, to the southeast Khand. The atlas was published before The Peoples of Middle-earth, in which the Sea of Rhûn. Mordor was a relic of the works of Morgoth, apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions

15.
White Witch
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Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magicians Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C. S. Lewiss series, The Chronicles of Narnia. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, some recent editions of the books include brief notes, added by later editors, that describe the cast of characters. As Lewis scholar Peter Schakel points out, the description there of Jadis, beyond characterising the two as Northern Witches, Lewiss text does not connect them. See Lady of the Green Kirtle for further discussion, the White Witch was born before the creation of Narnia and died in battle in Narnian year 1000. In The Magicians Nephew, Jadis is introduced as the Queen of Charn and she was the last of a long line of kings and queens, who began well but grew evil over many generations and conquered the entire world of Charn. Jadis, a sorceress, fought a bloody war of rebellion against her sister. On the point of defeat, Jadis chose not to submit and she then cast a spell of enchanted sleep upon herself to await someone who could rescue her from Charn. Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer arrive in the ruins of Charn through Digorys uncles magic, the children find the bell that Jadis left to break the spell. Despite Pollys warning not to ring the bell, Digory does so, Jadis is awakened and by holding on to them is transported with them back to London in the year 1900. She initially aims to conquer the world to which she is transported, Digory, seeking to correct his mistake, attempts to transport her back to Charn, but they end up instead in the world of Narnia at the moment of its creation by the lion Aslan. As Aslan approaches, she attacks him with the rod of iron she has torn by main strength from a London lamp post, Jadis makes her way to the garden on a mountain west of Narnia, where she eats an apple that she believes will make her immortal. However, this immortality comes at a cost, her skin is bleached white. She cannot stand the sight of the tree that Aslan has Digory plant in Narnia from the fruit of the garden, meanwhile, the land of Narnia remains the domain of animals and is not troubled by the Witch nor any other enemy for many hundred years. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, set 1,000 Narnian years after the events of The Magicians Nephew, S. Lewis are so horrible that if I told you, your parents probably wouldnt let you read this book. Her magic is now powerful, and she has acquired a wand with which she can turn enemies to stone if they displease or attempt to challenge her in any way. She styles herself Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, by the time the Pevensie children arrive in Narnia, Jadis has ruled for 100 years. The four Pevensie children all arrive in Narnia together soon afterwards, and Edmund strays to the Witch after he, but with the approach of Aslan, her magical winter thaws, and Edmund is rescued after his treason. Jadis insists on her right as the first to rebel against Aslan to take the life of Edmund as a traitor and she accepts Aslans offer of his own life as substitute, knowing that without him the Pevensies cannot stand against her - even with the support of Aslans army

16.
The Chronicles of Narnia
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The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven high fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of literature and is the authors best-known work. The books span the history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magicians Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle. The books have profoundly influenced adult and childrens literature since World War II. Lewiss exploration of themes not usually present in literature, such as religion, as well as the books perceived treatment of issues including race. Although Lewis originally conceived what would become The Chronicles of Narnia in 1939, he did not finish writing the first book The Lion, the Witch, the Magicians Nephew, the penultimate book to be published, but the last to be written, was completed in 1954. Lewis did not write the books in the order in which they were originally published, the original illustrator, Pauline Baynes, created pen and ink drawings for the Narnia books that are still used in the editions published today. Lewis was awarded the 1956 Carnegie Medal for The Last Battle and this picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself, shortly before the start of World War II, many children were evacuated to the English countryside in anticipation of attacks on London and other major urban areas by Nazi Germany. As a result, on 2 September 1939, three girls, Margaret, Mary and Katherine, came to live at The Kilns in Risinghurst. But it is most about Peter who was the youngest and they all had to go away from London suddenly because of Air Raids, and because Father, who was in the Army, had gone off to the War and Mother was doing some kind of war work. They were sent to stay with a kind of relation of Mothers who was an old professor who lived all by himself in the country. In It All Began With a Picture C. S. Lewis continues, but then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time, apart from that, I dont know where the Lion came from or why he came. But once he was there, he pulled the story together. The manuscript for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was complete by the end of March 1949, the name Narnia is based on Narni, Italy, written in Latin as Narnia. Lancelyn Green wrote, When Walter Hooper asked where he found the word Narnia, Lewis showed him Murrays Small Classical Atlas, grundy, which he acquired when he was reading the classics with Mr Kirkpatrick at Great Bookham. On plate 8 of the Atlas is a map of ancient Italy, Lewis had underscored the name of a little town called Narnia, simply because he liked the sound of it

17.
God
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In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God

18.
Demon
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A demon is a supernatural, mythological and often malevolent being prevalent in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology and folklore. The original Greek word daimon does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of the Koine δαιμόνιον, the Ancient Greek word δαίμων daimōn denotes a spirit or divine power, much like the Latin genius or numen. Daimōn most likely came from the Greek verb daiesthai, the Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. To distinguish the classical Greek concept from its later Christian interpretation, the Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. In fact, εὐδαιμονία eudaimonia, means happiness, far into the Byzantine period Christians eyed their cities old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons presence. It was no longer beautiful, it was infested, the term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which drew on the mythology of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament, the Western medieval and neo-medieval conception of a demon derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity. The Hellenistic daemon eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as evaluated by Christianity, the supposed existence of demons remains an important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions. Demons are still feared largely due to their power to possess living creatures. In the contemporary Western occultist tradition, a demon is a metaphor for certain inner psychological processes. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as shedu, storm-demons and they were represented as winged bulls, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective jinn of royal palaces. From Chaldea, the term shedu traveled to the Israelites, the writers of the Tanach applied the word as a dialogism to Canaanite deities. There are indications that demons in popular Hebrew mythology were believed to come from the nether world, various diseases and ailments were ascribed to them, particularly those affecting the brain and those of internal nature. Examples include catalepsy, headache, epilepsy and nightmares, there also existed a demon of blindness, Shabriri who rested on uncovered water at night and blinded those who drank from it. Demons supposedly entered the body and caused the disease while overwhelming or seizing the victim, to cure such diseases, it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and talismanic performances, at which the Essenes excelled. In mythology, there were few defences against Babylonian demons, the mythical mace Sharur had the power to slay demons such as Asag, a legendary gallu or edimmu of hideous strength. As referring to the existence or non-existence of shedim there are converse opinions in Judaism, there are practically nil roles assigned to demons in the Jewish Bible. In conclusion, Jews are not obligated to believe in the existence of shedim, the word shedim appears only in two places in the Tanakh

19.
Dimension
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In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it – for example. The inside of a cube, a cylinder or a sphere is three-dimensional because three coordinates are needed to locate a point within these spaces, in classical mechanics, space and time are different categories and refer to absolute space and time. That conception of the world is a space but not the one that was found necessary to describe electromagnetism. The four dimensions of spacetime consist of events that are not absolutely defined spatially and temporally, Minkowski space first approximates the universe without gravity, the pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of general relativity describe spacetime with matter and gravity. Ten dimensions are used to string theory, and the state-space of quantum mechanics is an infinite-dimensional function space. The concept of dimension is not restricted to physical objects, high-dimensional spaces frequently occur in mathematics and the sciences. They may be parameter spaces or configuration spaces such as in Lagrangian or Hamiltonian mechanics, in mathematics, the dimension of an object is an intrinsic property independent of the space in which the object is embedded. This intrinsic notion of dimension is one of the ways the mathematical notion of dimension differs from its common usages. The dimension of Euclidean n-space En is n, when trying to generalize to other types of spaces, one is faced with the question what makes En n-dimensional. One answer is that to cover a ball in En by small balls of radius ε. This observation leads to the definition of the Minkowski dimension and its more sophisticated variant, the Hausdorff dimension, for example, the boundary of a ball in En looks locally like En-1 and this leads to the notion of the inductive dimension. While these notions agree on En, they turn out to be different when one looks at more general spaces, a tesseract is an example of a four-dimensional object. The rest of this section some of the more important mathematical definitions of the dimensions. A complex number has a real part x and an imaginary part y, a single complex coordinate system may be applied to an object having two real dimensions. For example, an ordinary two-dimensional spherical surface, when given a complex metric, complex dimensions appear in the study of complex manifolds and algebraic varieties. The dimension of a space is the number of vectors in any basis for the space. This notion of dimension is referred to as the Hamel dimension or algebraic dimension to distinguish it from other notions of dimension

20.
Star Wars
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Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of characters a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars and it was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed-to-negative reactions, a sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars, The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards and have been successes, with a combined box office revenue of over $7.5 billion. Spin-off films include Star Wars, The Clone Wars and Rogue One, Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the Most successful film merchandising franchise. In 2015, the value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $42 billion. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and earned the rights to all subsequent Star Wars films. Walt Disney Studios owns digital distribution rights to all the Star Wars films, the events depicted in the Star Wars franchise take place in an unnamed fictional galaxy at an undetermined point in the distant past. Many species of creatures are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a single galactic government. In the prequel trilogy, this is depicted in the form of the Galactic Republic, at the end of the trilogy and throughout the original trilogy. Preceding and during the trilogy, this government is the New Republic. One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the Force and it is described in the first produced film as an energy field created by all living things surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together. While the Force can be used for good, known as the side, it also has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression. The sequel trilogy introduces the Knights of Ren, an order of practitioners of the side of the Force aligned with the First Order. The first film in the series, Star Wars, was released on May 25,1977 and this was followed by two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21,1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25,1983

21.
Sith
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The Sith is an organization of preternaturally-gifted warriors in the fictional Star Wars universe. They are depicted as an ancient monastic and academic kraterocratic organization whose origin date back to c.6,000 BBY, the Sith Order mostly consists of those characterized by their desire to seize power through physical or supernatural force, social maneuvering and political cunning. Sith believed in conflict as a catalyst for growth, and as a tool to purge the unworthy and their culture was one based upon fear, dishonesty, and betrayal. The Sith are the primary wielders of the side of the Force. Within the space setting of Star Wars, the Sith are an affiliation of warriors who cultivate a legacy of forbidden martial arts in pursuit of individual power. Their schemes are key to the plot of the Star Wars films. Frequently opposed by their ancient forebears, the Jedi, the Sith have also been stymied at crucial junctures by internal frictions, the notion that the Sith’s cruel philosophy is ultimately self-defeating on both a personal and institutional level is a running theme within Star Wars media. The Sith philosophy lionizes greed, lust, selfishness and the attainment of power regardless of the cost to others, Sith believed in strength and also encouraged anyone with the power to do so, to rise up. Both Sith and Jedi alike may draw on the Force to achieve a variety of superhuman feats, however, in keeping with their egoistical doctrine, the Sith use these powers for their benefit alone, often to manipulate and destroy others. The Sith are key antagonists within the Star Wars universe, and are enslaved to their own self-serving desires, amoral, sadistic, vindictive, violent, the origin, agenda, abilities and philosophy of the Sith are intertwined with their relationship to the Force. With proper training, the Force may be called upon by rare individuals capable of sensing or touching it to achieve feats such as telekinesis, precognition. Not all psychological states are conducive to employing the Force, discipline is required, however, both quietude and focused, intense passion alike can be effective. The Sith originate in a group of Force-sensitive warriors who discovered efficaciousness of passion as a tool to draw on the Force many centuries prior to the events of the first Star Wars film, fully embracing this approach, they became defined by it. The warrior who would become the first Sith was apparently a member of an older martial order of Force-sensitive sapient beings in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi served as a knightly order within the Galactic Republic. The Jedi creed mirrored their method of utilizing the Force, and Jedi doctrine favored states of serenity, detachment, compassion, when certain members of the Jedi Order began to experiment with passion as an alternative, controversy emerged. The Jedi establishment saw these innovations as a threat to the ethos of the Jedi, opening members to the seduction of aggrandizement, eventually, this controversy led to a sectarian conflict in which the heterodox Jedi were defeated and exiled. In exile, the dissident Jedi was free to explore the relationship between passion and the Force and his investigations led them to conclude that the martial and ethical disciplines of the Jedi establishment were foolish and misguided

22.
Darth Vader
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Darth Vader, also known by his birth name Anakin Skywalker, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character was created by George Lucas and has been portrayed by numerous actors and his appearances span the first six Star Wars films, as well as Rogue One, and his character is heavily referenced in Star Wars, The Force Awakens. He is also an important character in the Star Wars expanded universe of television series, video games, novels, literature and comic books. Originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, he falls to the side of the Force and serves the evil Galactic Empire at the right hand of his Sith master. He is also the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, grandfather of Kylo Ren, Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. The American Film Institute listed him as the third greatest movie villain in history on 100 Years. 100 Heroes and Villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates, however, other critics consider him a tragic hero, citing his original motivations for the greater good before his fall to the dark side. After the success of the original Star Wars, series creator George Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write the sequel with him and they held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment. The treatment is similar to the film, except that Vader does not reveal he is Lukes father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Lukes father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke, Lucas was disappointed with the script, but Brackett died of cancer before he could discuss it with her. With no writer available, Lucas had to write the next draft himself, in this draft, he made use of a new plot twist, Vader claiming to be Lukes father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, the new plot element of Lukes parentage had drastic effects on the series. Anakin battled Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was badly wounded, meanwhile, Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Galactic Republic became the tyrannical Galactic Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi. This change in character would provide a springboard to the Tragedy of Darth Vader storyline that underlies the prequel trilogy, after deciding to create the prequel trilogy, Lucas indicated the series would be a tragic one depicting Anakins fall to the dark side. He also saw that the prequels could form the beginning of one story that started with Anakins childhood. This was the step towards turning the film series into a saga. For the first prequel, Star Wars, Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Movie trailers focused on Anakin and a one-sheet poster showing him casting Vaders shadow informed otherwise unknowing audiences of the characters eventual fate. The movie ultimately achieved a goal of introducing audiences to Anakin

23.
Palpatine
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Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character of the Star Wars franchise, mainly portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In the original trilogy, he is depicted as the aged, pale-faced and cloaked Emperor of the Galactic Empire, as Sidious, he instigates the Clone Wars, nearly destroys the Jedi, and transforms the Republic into the Empire. He also manipulates Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into turning to the dark side, Palpatines reign is brought to an end when Vader kills him to save his son, Luke Skywalker. The Emperor is briefly mentioned in the original Star Wars, the first film in the original trilogy, grand Moff Tarkin explains to his fellow Imperials that the Emperor has dissolved the Senate. The Emperor first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and he appears in hologram form to address Darth Vader, his Sith apprentice. He tells Vader that Luke Skywalker is becoming a threat to the Empire. Vader convinces him that Luke would be an asset if turned to the dark side. In 1983s Return of the Jedi, the Emperor appears in person to oversee the last stages of the second Death Stars construction and he assures Darth Vader that they will together turn Luke, now revealed to be Vaders son, to the dark side. Unknown to Vader, the Emperor plans to replace his apprentice with Luke, when Vader brings Luke before his master, the Emperor tempts Luke to join the dark side by appealing to the young Jedis fear for his friends, whom he has lured into a trap. This leads to a duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader. The Emperor tells Luke to kill Vader and take his place, enraged, the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning. Moved by his sons cries for help, Vader throws the Emperor into the Death Stars reactor shaft, as Sidious, he influences the corrupt Trade Federation to blockade and invade Naboo. Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo flees to the planet Coruscant to receive counsel from Palpatine, after a plea for help from the senate results in bureaucratic delays, Palpatine persuades the queen to make a motion to have Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum removed from office. When Padmé attempts to liberate Naboo, Sidious sends his Sith apprentice Darth Maul there to capture her, the invasion is eventually thwarted and Maul is defeated in a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Palpatine uses the crisis to be elected the new Chancellor of the Republic and he then returns to Naboo, where he befriends the young Anakin Skywalker, telling him that, We will watch your career with great interest. In the 2002 sequel Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, since the Separatists are secretly building a battle droid army, Palpatine uses the situation to have himself granted emergency powers. Palpatine feigns reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis has ended and his first act is to allow the creation of a clone army to counter the Separatist threat, this results in the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. With the galaxy now at war as Sidious planned, Dooku brings him the plans for a new superweapon

24.
Davros
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Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks, Davros is a major enemy of the series protagonist, the Doctor, and is the creator of the Doctors deadliest enemies, the Daleks. Davros is a genius who has mastered many areas of science but also a megalomaniac who believes that through his creations he can become the supreme being and ruler of the Universe. Davros is from the planet Skaro, whose people, the Kaleds, were engaged in a bitter war of attrition with their enemies. He is horribly scarred and disabled, a condition that various spin-off media attribute to his laboratory being attacked by a Thal shell and it would become an obvious inspiration for his eventual design of the Dalek. The lower half of his body is absent and he is incapable of leaving the chair for more than a few minutes without dying. Davros voice, like those of the Daleks, is electronically distorted and his manner of speech is generally soft and contemplative, but when angered or excited he is prone to ranting outbursts that resemble the hysterical, staccatissimo speech of the Daleks. Davros first appeared in the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks, Nation, creator of the Dalek concept, had deliberately modelled elements of the Daleks character on Nazi ideology, and conceived of their creator as a scientist with strong fascist tendencies. The physical appearance of Davros was developed by visual effects designer Peter Day and sculptor John Friedlander, producer Philip Hinchcliffe told Friedlander to consider a design similar to the Mekon from the Eagle comic Dan Dare, with a large dome-like head and a withered body. Wisher based his performance as Davros on the philosopher Bertrand Russell, in order to prepare for filming under the heavy mask, Wisher rehearsed wearing a paper bag over his head. In the Destiny of the Daleks, Davros is played by David Gooderson using the mask Friedlander made for Wisher after it was split into intersecting sections to get as good a fit as possible. When Terry Molloy took over the role in Resurrection of the Daleks, the Fourth Doctor first encountered Davros in Genesis of the Daleks when he and his companions were sent to Skaro to avert the creation of the Daleks. He later names these creatures Daleks, an anagram of Kaleds, Davros quickly becomes obsessed with his creations, considering them to be the ultimate form of life compared to others. When other Kaleds attempted to thwart his project, Davros arranges the extinction of his own people by using the Thals, Davros then weeds out those in elite scientific division who are loyal to him so he can have the Daleks eliminate the rest. But the Daleks ultimately turn on Davros, killing his supporters before shooting him when he tries to halt the Dalek production line, in Destiny of the Daleks, it is revealed that Davros was not killed, but placed in suspended animation and buried underground. The Daleks unearth their creator to help break a logical impasse in their war against the android Movellans. However, the Dalek force is destroyed by the Doctor, and Davros is captured and imprisoned by the humans in suspended animation, before being taken to Earth to face trial. In the Fifth Doctor story Resurrection of the Daleks, Davros is released from his space station prison by small Dalek force aided by human mercenaries, the Daleks require Davros to find an antidote for a Movellan-created virus that has all but wiped them out

25.
Doctor Who
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Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called The Doctor and he explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes, while working to save civilisations, the show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series, the programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There was an attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot. The programme was relaunched in 2005, and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff, twelve actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The conceit is that this is a Time Lord trait through which the character of the Doctor takes on a new body, each actors portrayal differs, but all represent stages in the life of the same character and form a single narrative. The time-travelling feature of the means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. The current lead, Peter Capaldi, took on the role after Matt Smiths exit in the 2013 Christmas special The Time of the Doctor, in 2017, Capaldi confirmed he would be leaving at the end of the tenth series. Doctor Who follows the adventures of the character, a rogue Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He fled from Gallifrey in a stolen TARDIS – Time and Relative Dimension in Space – a machine which allows him to travel across time, the TARDIS has a chameleon circuit which normally allows the machine to take on the appearance of local objects as a disguise. However, the Doctors TARDIS remains fixed as a blue British police box due to a malfunction in the chameleon circuit, the Doctor rarely travels alone and often brings one or more companions to share these adventures. His companions are usually humans, as he has found a fascination with planet Earth, as a Time Lord, the Doctor has the ability to regenerate when his body is mortally damaged, taking on a new appearance and personality. The Doctor has gained numerous reoccurring enemies during his travels, including the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master, another renegade Time Lord. Doctor Who first appeared on BBC TV at 17,16,20 GMT, eighty seconds after the programme time,5,15 pm. It was to be a weekly programme, each episode 25 minutes of transmission length. Discussions and plans for the programme had been in progress for a year, writer Anthony Coburn, story editor David Whitaker and initial producer Verity Lambert also heavily contributed to the development of the series

26.
Dalek
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The Daleks /ˈdɑːlɛks/ are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The Daleks were conceived by science-fiction writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The Daleks and their catchphrase, Exterminate. is a well-recognised reference in British popular culture. Within the programmes narrative, the Daleks were engineered by the scientist Davros during the years of a thousand-year war between his people, the Kaleds, and their enemies the Thals. His creations soon came to view themselves as the race in the universe. Collectively they are the greatest enemies of Doctor Whos protagonist, the Time Lord known as The Doctor and they are among the shows most popular villains and their various returns to the series over the years have typically been widely reported in the television press. The Daleks were created by writer Terry Nation and designed by BBC designer Raymond Cusick and they were introduced in December 1963 in the second Doctor Who serial, colloquially known as The Daleks. They became an immediate and huge hit with viewers, featuring in many subsequent serials and they have become as synonymous with Doctor Who as the Doctor himself, and their behaviour and catchphrases are now part of British popular culture. In 1999 a Dalek photographed by Lord Snowdon appeared on a stamp celebrating British popular culture. As early as one year after first appearing on Doctor Who, the word Dalek has entered major dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines Dalek as a type of robot appearing in Dr. Who, a B. B. C. Television science-fiction programme, hence used allusively, but English-speakers sometimes use the term metaphorically to describe people, usually authority figures, who act like robots unable to break from their programming. Daleks have been known to use their plungers to interface with technology, crush a skull by suction, measure the intelligence of a subject. Dalek casings are made of a bonded polycarbide material dubbed dalekanium by a member of the resistance in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The lower half of a Daleks shell is covered with hemispherical protrusions, or Dalek bumps and their armour has a forcefield that evaporates most bullets and resists most types of energy weapons. The forcefield seems to be concentrated around the Daleks midsection, as normally ineffective firepower can be concentrated on the eyestalk to blind a Dalek. Daleks have a limited visual field, with no peripheral sight at all. Their own energy weapons are capable of destroying them and their weapons fire a beam that has electrical tendencies, is capable of propagating through water, and may be a form of plasma. The eyepiece is a Daleks most vulnerable spot, impairing its vision often leads to a blind, panicked firing of its weapon while exclaiming My vision is impaired, I cannot see. Russell T Davies subverted the catchphrase in his 2008 episode The Stolen Earth, the creature inside the mechanical casing is soft and repulsive in appearance and vicious in temperament

27.
Mad scientist
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Some may have benevolent or good-spirited intentions, even if their actions are dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental villains. Frankenstein was trained as both an alchemist and a modern scientist, which makes him the bridge between two eras of an evolving archetype. The book is said to be a precursor of a new genre, science fiction, rotwangs laboratory influenced many subsequent movie sets with its electrical arcs, bubbling apparatus, and bizarrely complicated arrays of dials and controls. Rotwangs appearance was also influential—the characters shock of hair, wild-eyed demeanor. Mad scientists were most conspicuous in popular culture after World War II and that the scientific and technological build-up during the Cold War brought about increasing threats of unparalleled destruction of the human species did not lessen the impression. Mad scientists frequently figure in science fiction and motion pictures from the period, boffin Crank Creativity techniques Creativity and mental illness List of mad scientists Megalomania Steins, Gate Garboden, Nick. Mad Scientist or Angry Lab Tech, How to Spot Insanity, from Faust to Strangelove, Representations of the Scientist in Western Literature. Christopher Frayling – Mad, Bad and Dangerous, the Scientist and the Cinema ISBN 1-86189-255-1 Junge, Torsten, Doerthe Ohlhoff. Wahnsinnig genial, Der Mad Scientist Reader, the Insanity Hoax, Exposing the Myth of the Mad Genius. Shrinktunes Media ISBN 978-0-98369-824-1 Schneider, Reto U,100 Amazing Experiments from the History of Science. Monsters and Mad Scientists, A Cultural History of the Horror Movie, nuclear Fear, A History of Images

28.
Ming the Merciless
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Ming the Merciless is a character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the villain of the strip and its related movie serials, television series. Ming is depicted as a tyrant who rules the planet Mongo. In the comic strip, when the heroic Flash Gordon and his friends land on the fictional planet Mongo, they found it was ruled by an evil Emperor, a despot who quickly becomes their enemy. He was not named at first, only being known as the Emperor until several issues later when his name was revealed to be Ming, the capital of his empire is named Mingo City in his honour. In addition to his army, Ming is shown to have access to a variety of science fiction gadgets. Though evil, he has his weaknesses, which include a desire to marry Flashs beautiful companion, Mings daughter Princess Aura is as evil as he is when the series begins, but is eventually reformed by her love for Flash, and later for Prince Barin of Arboria. Flash and his companions escape from Mings clutches and find allies among the peoples of Mongo, including Barin, Prince Vultan, Prince Thun and they organise a resistance movement against Mings rule, the action of the resistance takes up much of the strips storylines. Ming was eventually overthrown, and Raymond pitted Flash against other enemies in the 1940s, during Austin Briggss run on the Flash Gordon strip, he introduced Mings son, Kang the Cruel. Kang became Flashs main antagonist during Briggs run, subsequent Flash Gordon writers, including Dan Barry and Jim Keefe, brought Ming back as Flashs main opponent. In the 2011 Dynamite Comics Flash Gordon, Zeitgeist, Ming is shown as attempting to invade Earth in the year 1934, Ming is also shown as working with the Third Reich to conquer the planet. The prequel, Merciless, The Rise of Ming depicts Mings ascent to power over Mongo, Merciless depicts Ming as the son of Emperor Krang, and the husband of Auranae, who becomes Princess Auras mother. In the 1935 adaption, The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon, in the Flash Gordon serials of the late 1930s-era, Ming was portrayed by actor Charles B. In the first serial, he is killed in a crematorium. He returns later in league with a Martian Queen, and using a Nitron Lamp to cause disasters on Earth. In Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, he is once again ruler of Mongo, Ming takes on a Hitler-like persona in this pre WWII1940 serial with references to him as Dictator and his wearing of elaborate military uniforms. He is mocked with ridiculous plumed headwear, in the 1980 theatrical film, Ming, complaining of boredom, discovers Earth and unleashes various attacks on the planet. The film gives Ming a second-in-command, General Klytus, who is masked at all times and has an attraction towards Mings daughter, as in most versions, Ming is infatuated with Dale, whom he plans to marry

29.
Thanos
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Thanos is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a Titanian mutant–Eternal superhuman. The character first appeared in Iron Man #55 and was created by writer Mike Friedrich, debuting in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the character has been featured in over four decades of Marvel continuity and a self-titled series. The character has appeared in other Marvel-endorsed products, including animated series, arcade. Writer-artist Jim Starlin originally conceived of Thanos of Titan during college psychology classes, so I came up to Marvel and Roy asked if I wanted to do an issue of Iron Man. I felt that this may be my only chance ever to do a character, so they got jammed into it. Thanos was a much thinner character and Roy suggested beefing him up, and later on I liked beefing him up so much that he continued to grow in size. Starlin has admitted the character is influenced by Jack Kirbys Darkseid, Kirby had done the New Gods and he was over at DC at the time. I came up with things that were inspired by that. Youd think that Thanos was inspired by Darkseid, but that was not the case when I showed up, in my first Thanos drawings, if he looked like anybody, it was Metron. I had all these different gods and things I wanted to do, which became Thanos, Roy took one look at the guy in the Metron-like chair and said, Beef him up. If youre going to one of the New Gods, at least rip off Darkseid. Thanoss first appearance was in Iron Man #55, featuring a story by Jim Starlin that was scripted by Mike Friedrich, the storyline from that issue continued through Captain Marvel #25–33, Marvel Feature #12, Daredevil #107, and Avengers #125. He returned in a storyline that spanned Strange Tales #178-181, Warlock #9-11, Marvel Team Up #55. He was also featured in a backup story in Logans Run #6 and had a small role in the Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel. The character was revived in Silver Surfer vol.3 #34 and guest-starred until issue #50, while appearing in The Thanos Quest #1–2. After an appearance in Spider-Man #17, Thanos had a role in Warlock. Thanos appeared in a storyline in Ka-Zar vol.2 #4–11, Ka-Zar Annual, and the X-Man and Hulk Annual, before featuring in Thor vol.2 #21–25

30.
Darkseid
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Darkseid is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the made a cameo appearance in Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 before making his full first appearance in Forever People #1. Darkseid is the ruler of the planet Apokolips, and his ultimate goal is to conquer the universe. As one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, the became a staple Superman villain. Darkseid was ranked number 6 on IGNs top 100 comic book villains of all time, Jack Kirby debuted at DC Comics with Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 and immediately began establishing characters that would lay the foundation for his newly conceived Fourth World epic. The chief antagonist would be the Darkseid villain who had a cameo in Supermans Pal, according to writer Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby modelled Darkseids face on actor Jack Palance. Kirby modelled Darkseids character on that of Adolf Hitler and the world of Apokolips on Nazi Germany, like Hitler, Darkseid is a jackboot-wearing megalomaniac and warmonger who, in fascist style, sees every citizen as an extension of the state and himself. His society is highly militant, with children being indoctrinated from an age to be warlike. The son of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra, Prince Uxas, second in line to the throne of Apokolips, plotted to seize power over the planet. Following Sulis death, Darkseids heart grew even colder, and he ordered Desaad to poison Heggra, Darkseid had briefly been forced by his mother to marry Tigra, with whom he also had a son. After murdering his mother, Darkseid ordered Tigra to eliminate their son, Orion, the destructive war with the rival planet, New Genesis, was stopped only with a diplomatic exchange of the sons of Highfather and Darkseid. Darkseids second born son was surrendered to Highfather, while Darkseid received Scott Free and this eventually turned out to be a setback for Darkseid, with his biological son growing up to value and defend the ideals of New Genesis in opposition to his father. The prophecy foretold that Darkseid would meet his defeat at the hands of his son in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armaghetto of Apokolips. Refusing to aid Darkseid in his mad quest, the Amazons battled his parademon troops, Wonder Woman was able to gain her revenge against Darkseid for killing so many of her sisters by placing a portion of her own soul into Darkseid. This supposedly weakened the power as he lost a portion of his dark edge. Darkseids goal was to all free will from the universe. To this end, he sought to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation and he had a special interest in Earth, as he believed humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intended to probe the minds of every human in order to piece together the Equation and this has caused him to clash with many superheroes of the DC Universe, most notably the Kryptonian Superman

31.
Kingpin (character)
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The Kingpin is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is portrayed as one of the most feared and powerful lords in the Marvel Universe. The Kingpin first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #50, initially an adversary of Spider-Man, the character later became the archenemy of Daredevil, and a recurring foe of the Punisher. IGNs list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains Of All Time List ranked The Kingpin as number 10, the Kingpins signature look is his extraordinarily heavyset appearance, with most of his mass consisting of muscle. He usually wears a suit jacket and carries a walking stick. The name Kingpin is a reference to the crime lord in mafia slang nomenclature. Wilson Fisk is played by Michael Clarke Duncan in the 2003 film Daredevil, the Kingpin first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #50, and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr, who based his physical appearance on actor Sydney Greenstreet. In his debut story arc in The Amazing Spider-Man #50–52, the Kingpin is portrayed purely as a mob boss, albeit one who tends to be unusually hands-on in his criminal dealings. In his subsequent appearances in the series, also written by Lee, he is developed more of a typical supervillain. In the early 1980s the character took a turn in his characterization. A series of appearances in Daredevil by writer/penciler Frank Miller depicted the Kingpin as a scheming and this take on the character would remain the dominant one for decades, and the Kingpin became widely regarded as Daredevils archenemy. He continues to be an opponent of Spider-Man, Daredevil. Wilson Fisk began his life as a child in New York City. Fisk began training himself in combat, using his new-found strength to intimidate the bullies into joining his gang. He was eventually discovered by crime lord Don Rigoletto, Fisk became Don Rigolettos bodyguard and right-hand man. Eventually, Fisk killed Don Rigoletto and took control of his criminal empire, while the Kingpin enjoyed a long tenure in his new position, he had made enemies such as the Maggia crime syndicate and the terrorist group HYDRA. The two groups teamed together to oppose Fisk, causing him to flee to Japan, there, he started a spice business in order to regain his wealth. After earning enough money, Fisk returned to New York and started gang wars, with the criminal world in chaos, Fisk was able to step in and take back control

32.
Lex Luthor
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Alexander Joseph Lex Luthor is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Lex Luthor first appeared in Action Comics #23 and has endured as the archenemy of Superman. The character is a wealthy, power-mad American business magnate, engineer, philanthropist to the city of Metropolis, given his high status as a supervillain, he also comes into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Lex Luthor has traditionally lacked superpowers or an identity and typically appears with a bald head. He periodically wears his Warsuit, a battle suit giving him enhanced strength, flight. Lex Luthor is the owner of a corporation called LexCorp, with Mercy Graves as his personal assistant, Luthor has carefully crafted his public persona in order to avoid suspicion and arrest. He is well known for his philanthropy, donating vast sums of money to Metropolis over the years, funding parks, foundations, and charities. The character was ranked 4th on IGNs list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, Luthor is one of a few genre-crossing villains whose adventures take place in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended. In his first appearance, Action Comics #23, Luthor is depicted as a genius and is referred to only by his surname. He resides in a city suspended by a dirigible and plots to provoke a war between two European nations. Lois Lane and Clark Kent investigate, which results in Lois being kidnapped, Luthor battles Superman with a green ray but Luthor is ultimately defeated by him, and Lois is rescued. Superman destroys Luthors dirigible with him still on it, implying Luthor may have died, Luthor returns in Superman #4 and steals a weapon from the U. S. Army that is capable of causing earthquakes. Superman battles and defeats Luthor, and the device is destroyed by Superman. The scientist who made the device commits suicide to prevent its reinvention. In a story in the issue, Luthor is also shown to have created a city on the sunken Lost Continent of Pacifo and to have recreated prehistoric monsters. Superman thwarts his plans, and Luthor appears to have killed by the dinosaurs he created. Luthor returns in Superman #5 with a plan to place hypnotic gas in the offices of influential people and he intends to throw the nation into a depression with the help of corrupt financier Moseley, but the story ends with Superman defeating him. Luthors obsessive hatred of Superman came later in the characters development, in Luthors earliest appearances, he is shown as a middle-aged man with a full head of red hair

33.
Once Upon a Time (TV series)
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Once Upon a Time is an American fairy tale television series that premiered on October 23,2011, on ABC. It follows the heroine Emma Swan as she protects the town and its inhabitants from various curses and villains, Most episodes involve flashbacks telling its numerous characters stories. The show airs Sundays at 8,00 pm ET/7,00 pm CT and it borrows elements and characters from the Disney-franchise and popular Western literature, folklore, and fairy tales. Once Upon a Time was created by Lost and Tron, Legacy writers Edward Kitsis, a spin-off series, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on October 10,2013, and concluded on April 3,2014. On March 3,2016, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season, the residents of Storybrooke, where Regina is its mayor, have lived an unchanging existence for 28 years, unaware of their own lack of aging. As such, she is the person who can break the curse. Henry is also the son of Regina, providing a source of both conflict and common interest between the two women. The other, set in the present day, follows a pattern with a different outcome. The first season premiered on October 23,2011, the Evil Queen interrupts the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming to announce that she will cast a curse on everyone that will leave her with the only happy ending. The majority of the fairy characters are transported to the town of Storybrooke, Maine. The second season premiered on September 30,2012, despite Emma having broken the curse, the characters are not returned to the fairy tale world, and must deal with their own dual identities. With the introduction of magic into Storybrooke by Mr, the third season premiered on September 29,2013. It was split into two volumes, with the first eleven episodes running from September to December 2013, and the half from March to May 2014. In the first volume, the characters travel to Neverland to rescue Henry. Their increasing power struggle with Pan continues in Storybrooke, which results in the complete reversal of the original curse. All the characters are returned to their worlds, leaving Emma. Once again, Emma is needed to save her family, the fourth season premiered on September 28,2014. It was also split into two volumes, with the first eleven episodes running from September to December 2014, and the half from March to May 2015

34.
Mr. Gold
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Rumplestiltskin, also known by his Storybrooke name Mr. Gold, is a fictional character in ABCs television series Once Upon a Time. He was the main antagonist of the fourth season and is portrayed by Robert Carlyle. He is also known as the Dark One, the Beast and he is the true love of Belle, father to Baelfire/Neal Cassidy, and grandfather to Neal and Emma Swans biological son Henry. Rumplestiltskin was born to the infamous Black Fairy and a con man named Malcolm, the Black Fairy abandoned him without even giving him a name, out of her desire to choose power over love. Later, as a boy, Malcolm left him with two spinners, from whom he receives a magic bean to create a portal to another world. Malcom used the bean to take them to Neverland, though he forced Rumplestiltskin to be returned to the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestiltskin witnessed as his father transforms into Peter Pan. In his adult years, Rumplestiltskin became a spinner who deserted from the Ogre Wars, to the disgust of his wife Milah. Rumplestiltskin was then tricked into becoming the Dark One, later killing Milah and cutting off Killians hand and he prevented his son Baelfire from being forced to join the wars, though Bae wants rid of his powers, creating a portal to transport them to a world without magic. Rumplestiltskin fears losing his powers, leaving Bae to cross over alone and he trains Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, until she becomes jealous of his continued teaching of her half-sister, the Evil Queen Regina, who he chooses to cast his curse. Soon afterwards, Prince Charming and Snow White use squid ink to immobilize, Regina enacts his curse, and he requests that she give him a place of comfort in the new world that they will be sent to. In Storybrooke, he is Mr. Gold, the owner of a pawn shop, like everyone else except Regina, he does not remember his true identity until Emma comes to town and tells him her name. He owns most of the town and he finds Regina a baby whom she names Henry, only for her to later learn that he is Emma Swans biological son. He helps Emma become Sheriff, and offers his services to Mary Margaret Blanchard. Gold eventually creates a potion to leave and tracks Bae to Manhattan, learning he is Neal Cassidy, Gold begins to die after he is poisoned by Hook with Dreamshade and the group return to Storybrooke, where Mary Margaret heals him by reluctantly cursing Coras heart. When Henry is kidnapped to Neverland, Gold travels with Emma, her parents, Regina, returning to Storybrooke, Pan attempts to kill his loved ones, though Gold uses his dagger to sacrifice both himself and his father. However, Pans curse is enacted, and when Regina destroys her curse to end Pans curse, Neal and Belle travel to Rumplestiltskins castle and are located to the Dark Ones vault where Neal resurrects Rumplestiltskin but kills himself. Before he dies, Rumplestiltskin merges Neals body with his own, when Snow White and Prince Charming enact a curse to stop Zelena, Mr. Gold is returned to Storybrooke under Zelenas control. Emma later finds him, only to find that Neal is trapped within him, Neal asks for Emma to free Gold to defeat Zelena, though he will die, she reluctantly agrees

35.
Dark Souls
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Dark Souls is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. A spiritual successor to FromSoftwares Demons Souls, it is the installment in the Souls series of games. Dark Souls began development under the title of Project Dark. The game was self-published and released in Japan in September 2011, in August 2012, the Prepare to Die edition of Dark Souls was released for PC, featuring additional content previously unavailable to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 users. In October 2012, the content from the PC version was released as downloadable content for consoles under the title Artorias of the Abyss. Dark Souls takes place in the kingdom of Lordran. Players assume the role of an undead character who begins a pilgrimage out of the Undead Asylum to discover the fate of the Undead. However, the games difficulty received mixed reviews, while some praised the challenge it provides, others criticized it for being unnecessarily unforgiving. The PC version of the game was less well-received, with criticism aimed at numerous technical issues, bugs, in April 2013, FromSoftware announced Dark Souls had sold 2.37 million copies. The PC version was the second most played Games for Windows Live title in 2012 based on unique users, the game spawned two sequels, Dark Souls II and III, released in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing game, the core mechanic of the game is exploration. Players are encouraged by the game to proceed with caution, learn from past mistakes, Dark Souls takes place in a large and continuous open world environment, connected through a central hub area. Players are able to travel to and from areas and explore various paths at will, central to Dark Souls are Bonfires. Bonfires are scattered throughout the world and serve as points for each level. When rested at, the player is healed to full, healing charges are restored, while resting, players can level up and perform other key functions. Another aspect of Dark Souls is the humanity system, There are two forms the player character can be in during the game, human form and hollow form. Whenever the player dies in human form, they are returned to hollow form, in order to gain the assistance of other players, the player must be in human form. While in human form, the player is subjected to invasions by other players and NPCs who seek to kill the player, humanity can be acquired in many ways, and if no humanity is available, players are still able to progress in hollow form

36.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Star Wars, The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure video game and part of The Force Unleashed project. The game was released in North America on September 16,2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing new and all previously released expanded content, was released in November 2009, which also came out on Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. The project bridges the first two Star Wars trilogies, acting as a story for both the united Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War depicted in the Original Trilogy. Despite this, the game was a bestseller in the United States and Australia, as of February 2010, the game has sold over seven million copies, and it is the fastest-selling Star Wars video game. A sequel, Star Wars, The Force Unleashed II, was released in October 2010, the Force Unleashed is a third-person action game in which the players characters weapons are the Force and a lightsaber. Developers treated the main characters lightsaber like another Force power, and wanted to ensure something visceral, the game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers. Experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkillers powers, the gameplay is intended to be easy to learn, the development team included horrible gamers to help ensure the games accessibility. Players can casually run and gun through the game, but the game rewards those who take a stealthy, the game includes enemies that are easy to overcome, game difficulty arises from presenting these enemies in large numbers that can wear down the players character. Additionally, enemies learn from the characters attacks, using the same attack on different characters can sometimes lead to the players character doing less damage. The enemies, which number over 50, have various strengths and weaknesses, the Force Unleashed begins with the player controlling Darth Vader as he searches Kashyyyk for the Jedi. After defeating the Jedi in battle, Vader discovers his child who is strong in the Force and raises him to become his apprentice, unbeknownst to the Emperor. When the apprentice reaches adulthood, Vader sends him to kill the remaining Jedi as training for his ultimate goal, Starkiller is given command of his own ship, the Rogue Shadow, piloted by Imperial officer Juno Eclipse, and is accompanied by PROXY, a training droid. Vader sends Starkiller to an Imperial shipyard to locate and kill General Rahm Kota, after fighting him, Starkiller blinds Kota and throws him from the shipyard. Starkiller is also sent by Vader to destroy Jedi Kazdan Paratus and Shaak Ti, presently the Emperor discovers Starkiller and Vader is forced to dispose of him, but later recovers the unconscious apprentice. Vader instructs him to form a rebellion against the Empire in order for them to distract the Emperor, Starkiller discovers a very-much alive Kota in Cloud City who has taken to living in squalor. Starkiller informs Kota of his plan to fight the Empire and they leave, during his time amassing allies, Starkiller is forced to rescue Kotas contact Bail Organa and his daughter Princess Leia to help his cause. Bail, Leia, Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis meet with Starkiller, however, upon doing so, Vader arrives with Imperial soldiers and arrests the group

37.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
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Blood Omen, Legacy of Kain is an action-adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics, with distribution involvement from Activision and BMG Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation in 1996, and a Microsoft Windows port was developed by Semi Logic Entertainments and released jointly by Crystal Dynamics, the game is the first title in the Legacy of Kain series. In Blood Omen, the player follows Kain, a newly resurrected vampire, Silicon Knights designed Blood Omen as a game which adults would want to play, intending to evolve the action role-playing genre and bring artistic cinema to video game consoles. Reviewers praised its scope and storytelling, but criticized its lengthy loading times, Blood Omen is a two-dimensional action-adventure game. The player controls the protagonist, Kain, from a top-down perspective, gameplay is divided between outdoor traversal and dungeon crawls, entailing hack and slash combat, puzzle-solving, and navigating hazards. To advance the story, Kain must locate and defeat the members of the Circle of Nine—who act as boss enemies—and return their tokens to the Pillars of Nosgoth. Humans, animals, and a variety of creatures inhabit the game world. As a vampire, Kain is required to consume the red blood of living creatures to replenish his health meter, which gradually drains over time, and diminishes more quickly if he sustains damage. When he casts spells or shapeshifts, he expends magic energy—this recovers in time, conversely, undead opponents relinquish harmful black blood, and demons and mutants yield green blood which poisons Kain, causing his health to deplete at a swifter rate. Over the course of the main quest, Kain acquires many items and abilities, as he collects blood vials and rune pyramids, Kains maximum blood and energy capacity rises. By drinking from blood fountains, he receives strength upgrades, faster magic regeneration, weapons include iron and fire-elemental swords, a spiked mace, twin axes, and the Soul Reaver, a two-handed flamberge. Suits of iron, bone, chaos, flesh, and wraith armor feature, a day and night cycle passes progressively—at night, Kains attacks become more potent, and during full moon phases, some sealed doors become accessible. Blood Omen introduces the land of Nosgoth, a fantasy setting dominated by humans, the health of the world is inextricably connected to the Pillars of Nosgoth—nine supernatural edifices, each one protected and represented by a human guardian. These sorcerers collectively comprise the Circle of Nine, and if a member dies, though the Sarafan disband, vampires continue to be persecuted. Kain, an ambitious, cynical young nobleman murdered and reluctantly raised as a vampire, is the protagonist of Blood Omen. Conceived as an antihero whose nature reflects the moral ambiguity, Kain was partially modeled on the character of William Munny from the 1992 Clint Eastwood film. Mortanius the Necromancer, an ancient wizard, resurrects Kain in a Faustian bargain, during a journey, the human nobleman Kain is ambushed and killed by a band of assassins. Mortanius offers him the chance to exact revenge—Kain assents, heedless of the cost, once he kills his attackers, Mortanius tells him that, while they were the instruments of his death, they were not the ultimate cause

38.
Arawn Death-Lord
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The Chronicles of Prydain is a pentalogy of childrens high fantasy Bildungsroman novels by Lloyd Alexander. Henry Holt published one annually from 1964 to 1968, the second earned a 1966 Newbery Honor, the five novels follow the protagonist Taran from youth to maturity, most overtly in the fourth book, Taran Wanderer. Taran has the title Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben but initially dreams of being a grand hero. His most important companions in adventure are Princess Eilonwy, a girl his age, Fflewddur Fflam, a bard and minor king, Gurgi, a wild man-beast, and Doli. Thematically the novels draw upon Welsh mythology, particularly the Mabinogion, appropriately, the authors note also reveals the geography is ultimately derived from Wales, though Alexander notes that Prydain is separate from Wales both in physical geography and history. Always interested in mythology, Alexander received army combat intelligence training in Wales during World War II and that exposed him to its castles, scenery, and language, which became part of the raw material for the Prydain books. Originally he planned to one or two – three at the very most. At one point he planned a trilogy with titles The Battle of the Trees, The Lion with the Steady Hand, and Little Gwion. In Welsh mythology the former features the sons of Don led by Gwydion against the forces of Arawn, later, a four-volume series would conclude with The High King. The editor felt that something was missing between third and fourth volumes, so Taran Wanderer was written one month after The Castle of Llyr was published, making it a five-volume series. The stories that are now collected in The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain actually were published in three different volumes, two books and one short story collection. Most of these act as backstories which fill in gaps for minor characters, prydains geography, culture, and names are based on ancient Wales, especially the tales of the Mabinogion. Prydain is a magical land engaged in a series of battles with its neighbor, Annuvin and it is the setting for four of the five books in the series. Once ruled over by the evil Queen Achren, Prydain was liberated by the Sons of Don, the High King rules over all the land, seconded by his war leader, with many subject kings ruling the various territories of Prydain, called cantrevs. Only the Free Commots, a land of craftsmen who answer only to the High King, are outside any subject kings jurisdiction, underneath and within Prydain is the kingdom of the Fair Folk, a diminutive supernatural race that mostly keeps to its own affairs. The Fair Folk have no love for the Death-Lord Arawn, however, in addition to the races of men and Fair Folk, Prydain is home to the Sons of Don and their descendants. Other varieties of such as the undead Cauldron-Born, the monstrous birdlike Gwythaints. Having garnered a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor, Prydain is widely recognized as a contribution to childrens literature

39.
The Chronicles of Prydain
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The Chronicles of Prydain is a pentalogy of childrens high fantasy Bildungsroman novels by Lloyd Alexander. Henry Holt published one annually from 1964 to 1968, the second earned a 1966 Newbery Honor, the five novels follow the protagonist Taran from youth to maturity, most overtly in the fourth book, Taran Wanderer. Taran has the title Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben but initially dreams of being a grand hero. His most important companions in adventure are Princess Eilonwy, a girl his age, Fflewddur Fflam, a bard and minor king, Gurgi, a wild man-beast, and Doli. Thematically the novels draw upon Welsh mythology, particularly the Mabinogion, appropriately, the authors note also reveals the geography is ultimately derived from Wales, though Alexander notes that Prydain is separate from Wales both in physical geography and history. Always interested in mythology, Alexander received army combat intelligence training in Wales during World War II and that exposed him to its castles, scenery, and language, which became part of the raw material for the Prydain books. Originally he planned to one or two – three at the very most. At one point he planned a trilogy with titles The Battle of the Trees, The Lion with the Steady Hand, and Little Gwion. In Welsh mythology the former features the sons of Don led by Gwydion against the forces of Arawn, later, a four-volume series would conclude with The High King. The editor felt that something was missing between third and fourth volumes, so Taran Wanderer was written one month after The Castle of Llyr was published, making it a five-volume series. The stories that are now collected in The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain actually were published in three different volumes, two books and one short story collection. Most of these act as backstories which fill in gaps for minor characters, prydains geography, culture, and names are based on ancient Wales, especially the tales of the Mabinogion. Prydain is a magical land engaged in a series of battles with its neighbor, Annuvin and it is the setting for four of the five books in the series. Once ruled over by the evil Queen Achren, Prydain was liberated by the Sons of Don, the High King rules over all the land, seconded by his war leader, with many subject kings ruling the various territories of Prydain, called cantrevs. Only the Free Commots, a land of craftsmen who answer only to the High King, are outside any subject kings jurisdiction, underneath and within Prydain is the kingdom of the Fair Folk, a diminutive supernatural race that mostly keeps to its own affairs. The Fair Folk have no love for the Death-Lord Arawn, however, in addition to the races of men and Fair Folk, Prydain is home to the Sons of Don and their descendants. Other varieties of such as the undead Cauldron-Born, the monstrous birdlike Gwythaints. Having garnered a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor, Prydain is widely recognized as a contribution to childrens literature

40.
Samurai Jack
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Samurai Jack is an American science fiction-action animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows Jack, an unnamed samurai sent through time to a future ruled by the tyrannical shape-shifting demon Aku. Jack quests to travel back in time and defeat Aku before he can take over the world. The series premiered on August 10,2001, with a TV movie called The Premiere Movie, before ending in its season on September 25,2004. A revival was produced twelve years later, giving the fifth and final season that concludes the series, All episodes of Samurai Jack are directed by Tartakovsky, usually in collaboration with others. The series has garnered acclaim, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program, as well as six Annie Awards. Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting Master of Darkness, but a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku. A few years later, Aku escapes, and the Emperor sends away his son to travel the world and train so he can return, the samurai prince arrives in a dystopian, retro-futuristic Earth ruled by Aku. The first people he encounters in the future call him Jack as a form of slang and his given name is never mentioned. Most episodes depict Jack overcoming various obstacles in his quest to travel back to his own time, each time Jack nears the end of his quest, his chance slips away, forcing him to continue his journey. The retro-futuristic world is inhabited by robots, extraterrestrials, monsters, Aku has brought aliens from other planets to inhabit Earth, while destroying the habitability of the alien planets. Mythologies, supernatural forces and demonic enemies make regular appearances, yet do not seem to stand out among the technologically-advanced inhabitants, episodes range from dark and epic to light-hearted and comical, and usually contain little dialogue. Stories instead rely on their visuals, cinematic elements, and pacing, since Jack usually fights robots, monsters, and aliens, the fights can be intense while avoiding blood and gore. Aku often confronts Jack directly, through his minions and bounty-hunters, while he fails to kill Jack, his attempts to thwart Jacks return to his original time are successful. In one attempt, Jack is led to a portal to the past, the guardian is about to crush Jack when the portal starts to flicker and glow, to which the guardian reacts by sparing Jack. The guardian states that it is not yet time for Jack to return to the past, in his travels Jack encounters a wandering Scotsman, who carries a magic sword of his own and has had one leg replaced by a machine gun. The two men form a friendship and develop respect for one another, though Jacks reticence contrasts sharply with the Scotsmans boisterous manner, the Scotsman has considerable skill with his sword, consequently, the two pose a formidable threat to the enemies they face together

41.
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
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Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 third-person shooter video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Segas Sonic Team, and published by Sega. A spin-off to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game is the only to feature Shadow the Hedgehog as the main character, following the trend of recent Sonic games such as Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog is a 3D platform game. Most levels have three possible missions—Hero, Dark, or Normal—that the player may choose to complete, while some have only Hero, the missions completed determine the games plot and subsequently playable levels, a feature referenced by the games tagline. The plot centers on the attempt of Shadow, a creation of Doctor Eggmans grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, to defeat enemies, Shadow can use various weapons and special attacks. Shadow the Hedgehog was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, the game received mixed reviews, reviewers criticized its controls and dark theme, especially the addition of guns and other weapons to traditional Sonic gameplay, but praised its replay value. Shadow the Hedgehog is a game that incorporates elements of action-adventure gameplay. Like previous games in the Sonic series, basic gameplay involves running quickly, collecting rings, Shadow collects rings as a form of health, when he is attacked by an enemy, ten of his rings bounce away from him in all directions. If he is hit by an enemy while not having any rings, each level is completed by undertaking a mission, and each mission is labeled Hero, Dark, or Normal. The Normal missions involve reaching the Chaos Emerald or goal at the end of the level, all enemies attack Shadow regardless of the mission chosen. The mission types selected affect the plot, the levels played, each level features cutscenes that advance the story, and several levels also feature boss battles. New gameplay features distinguish Shadow the Hedgehog from previous Sonic games, for example, Shadow can use guns to combat enemies, adding an element of third-person shooter gameplay. Parts of the scenery, such as signs, can also be used as weapons. Another new feature is the ability to drive vehicles, such as motorcycles, although Shadow can outrun the games vehicles, the latter have unique capabilities, such as crushing enemies and traversing otherwise impassible acid-covered areas. As in most Sonic series games, the Chaos Emeralds play a role, they help Shadow remember his past and allow him to perform Chaos Control. Chaos Control allows Shadow to move quickly in levels and slows time in boss battles. Shadow can perform Chaos Control after the player fills the Hero Gauge by defeating Black Arms soldiers, the game includes a two-player mode that retains the single-player mechanics but is set in one of three specially designed stages and uses a vertically split screen to separate each players view. Each player chooses one of the available characters—Shadow, two versions of him, and palette-swapped variants of each. The combatants attack each other and steal each others rings until all, additionally, in single-player mode, a second player may take control of Shadows sidekick character in some stages

Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It …

George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, the director of A New Hope and the prequel trilogy, and the script supervisor of both the original and prequel trilogies. His work in the original film earned him Academy Award nominations, for best director, screenplay and film. In 2014, Lucas ceased creative involvement with the franchise.

The main cast members of the original Star Wars trilogy, who reprised their characters in supporting roles on the sequel trilogy; from left: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford (SDCC, July 2015).

Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

John Williams composed the scores for the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.